Calumet gets past Sentinel in West Central Tournament first round

The Calumet Lady Chieftains and Sentinel Lady Bulldogs met in the first round of the West Central Basketball Tournament at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center with Calumet emerging 42-32 winners, paced by Ashli Richardson’s 17 points.

Calumet went on a quick 6-0 run to open the game, with Richardson hitting her first of four 3-pointers in the game. She would also record two steals in the quarter which resulted in four points. Chelsea Rhoades of Sentinel answered with five points of her own, including one from downtown. The Lady Chieftains would hold a 14-8 lead going into the second frame of action.

A cold streak almost immediately seized Calumet, missing their first three shots while both teams conceded multiple turnovers. The Lady Bulldogs took advantage of Calumet’s sudden inability to find the bottom of the net to go on an 8-0 run to pull within 14-13. After over five minutes without a basket, Katie Percival finally broke the spell and knocked down a trey. Sentinel’s Cassandra Rodriguez then hit a layup with one second left to send the teams into the locker room tied 17-17.

Calumet poured it on in the third quarter, outscoring Sentinel 13-7. Richardson continued to cover the floor well, snagging her third steal of the game and turning it into three points. On the other end, Rhoades completed a three-point play from the stripe to try and keep the Lady Bulldogs in the game. Going into the final frame, however, the Lady Chieftains had extended their lead back to six points, 30-24.

Richardson went cold to start the fourth quarter, but a team effort saw five other Calumet players record at least a point to build a comfortable lead. Richardson hit her final three of the game with 2:40 left, delivering the knockout blow.

Richardson had a game-high 17 points and four steals, while Percival poured in 12 points for the Lady Chieftains. On the other end of the floor, Rhoades paced the Lady Bulldogs with a team-high 13 points. Lakyn Johnson also chipped in with 12 points for Sentinel.

Calumet will move on to face the winner of the Hydro-Eakly versus Arapaho-Butler tilt on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Weatherford. Sentinel will face the loser in the consolation bracket on Friday night at 7 p.m.